City Digest

Call for prosecution of unlicensed hostels

Ten suspected unlicensed hostels serving pregnant mainlanders have been reported to the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong since last month. It urged the government yesterday to prosecute operators. Some 72 per cent of 726 people surveyed by the DAB said public hospitals should stop accepting pregnant mainlanders, but only 33 per cent said the mainland wives of Hongkongers should be excluded.

2.2pc increase in MTR fares goes into force

MTR fares increased by 2.2 per cent from yesterday. Nearly 80 per cent of passengers will pay 20 cents more per trip, and about 5 per cent will pay 50 cents more. Octopus users usually pay less than those buying tickets but due to rounding, they will pay the same as, or more, than single-journey tickets on some trips.

Distressed hiker flown to hospital

A 57-year-old woman who fell ill while hiking with friends on a hillside in Sha Tin was flown to Eastern Hospital with suspected heat stroke. The temperature reached 34.4 degrees Celsius in some parts of the New Territories.

Shock for woman on Wan Chai traffic island

A woman had a lucky escape in Wan Chai when a taxi crashed into the fence of the traffic island on which she was waiting. She was not hit, but fell and suffered minor cuts, which were treated at Ruttonjee Hospital.

Call for mandatory paternity leave

Members of various parties and unions called for mandatory paternity leave yesterday, Father's Day, during a protest outside the government headquarters.